THE NURSE'S SECRET

US, 1941, 64 minutes, Black and white.
Lee Patrick, Regis Toomey, Julie Bishop, Ann Edmonds, George Campeau, Claire Blandick, Charles Waldron, Charles Trowbridge, Leonard Mudie.
Directed by Noel M.Smith.

Small-budget supporting feature from Warner Brothers in the early 1940s. It involves a police investigation into what looks like a suicide, could be an accident, but is actually murder.

This is a star vehicle for Regis Toomey as the police investigator, called in when his elderly aunt, Julia, Claire Bland it, discovers the dead body of her nephew, allegedly cleaning his gun. The scene shifts to a hospital where Ruth, character actress Lee Patrick, feels she is being stood up by the investigator but actually is invited by him to come to the house, to look after the elderly lady, to help with the investigation. There are some sparring between the two throughout the film as well as their collaboration in detective work.

The old lady act suspiciously and has had no time for her nephew. There is a sinister butler in the house with his wife – and the burning of a newspaper found at the scene of the crime. Later, the old lady is poisoned.

Also in on the drama are the family doctor as well as the family lawyer and his secretary.

There are further complications with a young woman that Ruth encounters and then comes to the house – it turning out that she had been secretly married to the dead man. Also coming to the house was her other suitor who wanted to get back documents concerning the marriage.

Also key to the murder is the extensive life-insurance that the dead man took out, his aunt wanting to have it.

Quite a lot of shenanigans around the house, especially at night and intruders.

However, the detective plays a number of hunches, organises some setups – especially with Ruth pretending to be able to get fingerprints.

And the lawyer and his assistant did it!